Couve à Mineira: Garlicky Collard Greens

Collard greens for Couve à Mineira

 

James And James / Getty Images 

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 5 mins
Total: 15 mins
Servings: 6 to 8 servings

This popular recipe for collard greens comes from the Minas Gerais region of Brazil, an area explored in 2016 by Anthony Bourdain for his show Parts Unknown. Africans contributed to Minas Gerais’s culinary identity, making it rich in garlic and onion. Several iconic Brazilian dishes were actually brought to the country by enslaved Africans.

In Couve à Mineira, thinly sliced collard greens are briefly cooked in garlic and olive oil for a healthy, tasty side dish. These greens are a traditional accompaniment to the classic Brazilian dish feijoada, but they go with almost any meal.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds collard greens (2 to 3 large bunches)
  • 5 to 6 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Steps to Make It

  1. Wash the collard greens well. Remove the largest stems, then gather bunches of the leaves together, and roll them up into a bundle. Thinly slice the bundles crosswise, cutting the leaves into very thin strips.

  2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet (cast iron works well) or wok over medium heat. Add the garlic and salt, cooking and stirring until the garlic is golden and fragrant.

  3. Add the greens, and sauté 3 or 4 minutes until they are bright green in color and starting to soften.

  4. Season greens with more salt and pepper to taste, and serve warm.

Recipe Variation

  • Dice 2 to 3 slices of bacon into small pieces. Sauté bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and set aside. Continue with step 2. Add the bacon to the cooked greens when they are finished cooking.


Nutrition Facts (per serving)
107 Calories
6g Fat
12g Carbs
4g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 107
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 6g 8%
Saturated Fat 1g 4%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 349mg 15%
Total Carbohydrate 12g 4%
Dietary Fiber 5g 17%
Protein 4g
Calcium 243mg 19%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)